In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. At some point he hit land, which he thought was India, but was actually an island in the Caribbean instead(Normally fouling things up this badly would certainly get someone fired, but Columbus grabbed credit for discovering an entire continent. Go Figure). After subjugating, robbing, raping, and kidnapping the Indians(so named because Columbus still thought he was in India when he first saw them[thus inventing the colloquial name for Native Americans that is used to this day]), Columbus went on several more voyages before dying in 1506. Now sure, Columbus may have been mistakenly looked up to by generations of schoolchildren, but the point of this post is not to make Columbus into Chicago 365's historical whipping boy. The point of this post is to look at something that commemorated Columbus' journey, put Chicago back on the map, and influenced probably more things about this city than anything else in history. Yup, that's right, we're finally talking about the 1893 Columbian Exposition.
By 1890, there had been many lavish and extravagant World's Fairs held throughout the world in such exotic places as London, Philadelphia, and Paris. Around that same time, there was a notion to hold a Fair in America to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America. Almost immediately, New York, D.C., St. Louis, and Chicago all started chomping at the bit to host the Fair. The financial backing of several prominent Chicagoans provided the necessary momentum to give Chicago the fair. Plans immediately started to be laid for the grandness of the fair. Renowned architect Daniel Burnham was tasked with designing and constructing the beautiful fairgrounds, a task he undertook with the assistance of his associate, Frederick Law Olmstead. Preparations for the fair were not limited to the South Side, as State Street saw some changes as well. Upon hearing of the multitudes that would be visiting Chicago for the fair, plans were laid by the Marshall Field & Co. leadership to begin planning for their iconic State Street store.
After many months of planning, the fair opened up on May 1, 1893 to much fanfare and public attention. Guests strolled through the paradise that had been created out of Washington Park. They strolled through the Midway(which would go on to give the University of Chicago's football team its nickname), and they were awed by Jackson Park, which proudly featured the Palace of Fine Arts(which would go on to house the Field Museum, and then the Museum of Science and Industry, where one can today see the Pioneer Zephyr, the U-505, and the largest plane to ever land at Meigs Field) and the glorious Republic statue(which would meet a fiery end in 1896). But the true wonders of the Fair were in wait for the guests once they reached the center of the fair. At the center of the festivities, they must have been taken aback with awe and wonder. For this was the 1893 World's Fair. And this was the White City. Getting to this White City was accomplished through various means. One way was the newly opened South Side Rapid Transit Line(Chicago's first elevated line), which had just entered operations in June of 1892(one of the stops on this line included Roosevelt). Another option to get to the fair was the Illinois Central Railroad, whose trains traveled right through Hyde Park on their journey downtown. This really bolstered the reputation and the finances of the IC.
Once people actually got inside the fairgrounds, boy were they in for a surprise. One of the prized pieces that the fair had was the Ferris Wheel. With a capacity of over 3,000 riders at a time, this marvel was intended to rival even the Eiffel Tower (which had debuted at the 1889 Paris Fair). The wheel accomplished that goal, and has gone on to inspire smaller models that have become inextricably associated with small-town fairs the country over. Of course, where there are rides, there are food and drink, right? Well of course, which explains how the fair also featured the roots of the Chicago style hot dog. Some 40 years before 'Fluky' Drexler would put his enduring touch onto the food, there was a stand from that was run by two Jewish brothers that would eventually morph into the iconic Vienna Beef company. And of course, hipsters owe a debt of gratitude to the fair as well, for it was here that their iconic beer of choice earned its moniker(sort of). The Pabst Brewing Company had been brewing beer out of Milwaukee since 1844, and was exhibiting its main brew at the fair. Supposedly, a contest was held at the fair to crown "America's Best" beer, and Pabst's brew won that title(apparently the competition was somewhat weak). In fairness, this story doesn't come without its detractors, from those who say that there wasn't even a vote held at the fair, to those who assert that several beers were only given a bronze medal. Regardless of the veracity of its claim, the company soon renamed the winning beer Pabst Blue Ribbon, and actually went to the trouble of hand-tying blue ribbons around each and every bottle of PBR up until 1916. The rest is history.
Of course, there were other activities to see outside of just the physical plant. It was in a meeting of historians held at this fair that Frederick Jackson Turner introduced his Frontier Thesis, prognosticating the end of The West as the 19th Century knew it. Speaking of the West, Buffalo Bill Cody came to the organizers wishing to field an act for the fair. When organizers said no, he decided to hold his show anyway, setting up shop just outside of the fairgrounds. One more mid-19th Century relic that visited the fair was a redressed version of the infamous Libby Civil War Prison, which went on to be known as the Chicago Coliseum and was the first home of the Chicago Auto Show. One day at the fair, Katharine Lee Bates visited. She was so moved that she referenced "Alabaster Cites" in the song America the Beautiful in deference to the fair. However, the Fair had its seedier elements. A huge area of the city was converted into the Levee, which served as a giant red-light district. In a few years time, this area would become home to the Everleigh Club, but for now it was just a run-of-the-mill red-light area--that just so happened to be run by a Chicago Alderman and a Democratic Committeeman.
The darkest side of the fair is embodied by the way it ended. There had been a slight economic panic in the city earlier that year, so some people were out of work. Those people included Patrick Pendergrast, who had helped to elect Mayor Carter Harrison Sr. in exchange for work. Harrison won the election, but then mitigating factors kept him from giving Pendergrast a job. Pendergrast flew into a rage, and spent the next couple of months planning his revenge on Harrison. Finally, on October 28, 1893, Pendergrast struck. He entered Harrison's home, was admitted by the maid, and as Harrison was emerging from his bedchamber, Pendergrast shot him 3 times from point blank range. Harrison died soon afterwards, and this immediately cast a large shadow over the end of the fair. The fair was scheduled to end 2 days later, but the grand closing ceremony was ditched in favor of a public memorial service for Harrison. All things considered, the 1893 Columbian Exposition changed the face of Chicago forever, introduced countless innovations to the modern world, and will truly go down in history as the Fair that changed Everything.
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